A Russian expat living in Sri Lanka fled the country after attempting to organize a “white party” event, which was met with huge backlash, calling it “racist” and “disgusting.”
The party’s announcement specified a white dress code for guests, but also had a line that said, “Face control: white,” which was largely taken to mean that only whites could attend.
After the announcement circulated online, the party that was due to be held at Sarayka Lounge in the southern coastal town of Unawatuna was urgently cancelled.
One outraged social media user wrote: “How dare they come to a brown country and expel people from that country.”
A local restaurant owner added: “I’m all for encouraging expats to live here, but that’s not the case.” I have no problem with expats coming to Sri Lanka and I welcome them, but this kind of thing is not okay and should not be allowed.
The party’s announcement specified a white dress code for guests, but also had a line that said, “Face control: white,” which was largely taken to mean that only whites could attend.
“I know not all expats are like this, nor are all Russians like this, but this kind of thing should be stopped fast and hard.”
Following the backlash, a man who claimed to be the organizer of the event posted on Instagram under the name @geo_ecstatic, writing: “We wanted to meet expats who have been living here for a long time and love Sri Lanka.
“The team… supported me and a joint decision was made to quickly organize a party,
‘I didn’t expect this to be such a delicate time for a large number of people.
‘I admit it was a bad idea… and I understand that we created it ourselves because of our stupidity. “I deeply apologize to all those whose feelings were hurt.”
He added that there was “no malice or racism” and has since had to leave Sri Lanka after receiving huge amounts of abuse and threats.
The account has since been set to private and the post has disappeared.
Sarayka Lounge, which was supposed to be the venue for the ‘white party’, also posted a statement on Instagram following its cancellation.
After the announcement circulated online, the party that was due to be held at Sarayka Lounge in the southern coastal town of Unawatuna was urgently cancelled.
Sarayka Lounge, which was supposed to be the venue for the ‘white party’, also posted a statement on Instagram following its cancellation.
They wrote in both Russian and English, ‘Ggood night! We apologize!
‘The party scheduled for Saturday will not take place. We have urgently canceled this event.
‘TOFurthermore, we have severed ties with the organizers who planned this party at our place.
‘We are a bar and we have venues for various events. tThis time we did not carry out a sufficiently exhaustive check.
‘We have never supported nor will we support various racist statements or organizations. W.I apologize! (Sarayka Lounge Owners).’
The president of a business association in Unawatuna, Rupasena Koswatta, said BBC Sinhala that many Russians have moved to the coastal city in the last two years.
Adding that many of the area’s tourism businesses are now owned by Russians, known locally as “Little Moscow.”
It comes after hundreds of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians traveled to Sri Lanka following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka also issued a statement “regarding the controversial night event in Unawatuna.”
The Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka also issued a statement “regarding the controversial night event in Unawatuna.”
It said: “On February 24, 2024, some businessmen in Unawatuna were planning to organize a ‘dress code: white’ evening event.
‘According to unconfirmed data, the main promoter and the owners of the bar who agreed to host the party are Russian citizens.
‘Due to the ambiguous entry conditions and the confusion caused to the public, they apologized, admitted they had no intention of harming anyone and canceled the event.’
Adding that the Embassy wants to “underline that Russia strongly condemns all forms of racial discrimination and nationalism.”